SEATTLE — No big cities in the United States have a higher combined state and local sales tax rate than Seattle and Tacoma, a new report finds.
Seattle's 10.35% and Tacoma's 10.3% rank first and second in combined sales tax rates, according to a new report from The Tax Foundation. On its website, The Tax Foundation describes itself as "the world's leading nonpartisan tax policy nonprofit."
"The city [Seattle] eclipsed Tacoma, Washington, at 10.3 percent, in April, when King County (in which Seattle is situated) adopted a 0.1 percent additional sales tax to generate additional funding for nonprofits providing cultural programming," wrote Jared Walczak of the Tax Foundation.
On top of the local rates, Washington state's sales tax rate is 6.5%. Of course, Washington also does not have a state income tax, unlike most states.
Coming in behind Seattle and Tacoma was Chicago along with three California cities: Long Beach, Oakland and Fremont, respectively. The Tax Foundation only included cities with at least 200,000 people as of July 2021.
Seattle's 3.85% and Tacoma's 3.8% are not the highest local sales tax rates in the state. Lynnwood, Mill Creek and Mukilteo all have 4.1% local sales tax rates and have a total combined rate of 10.6%, per the Department of Revenue.
Many Washingtonians will drive south to Oregon for larger purchases given the state's lack of a sales tax. Portland is a particular target as it does not have a local sales tax, either. Instead of a sales tax, Oregon has high income and business tax rates, per The Tax Foundation.
The average combined state and local sales tax rate in Washington, 9.45%, ranks fourth in the U.S. behind Arkansas (9.47%), Tennessee (9.556%) and Louisiana (9.565%).
